This thread is dedicated to folding bigadv in VMware. Below are screenshots of bigadv folding in VMware using an i7 920 @ 3.8 GHz and XP x64.
7-core bigadv folding 8-core bigadv folding (v1.0) There are examples of systems, PPD, and bonus points at this forum thread:
http://foldingforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=11314 To calculate bigadv bonus points and PPD based on TPF, go here:
Bigadv Bonus Point Calculator This is a new beta SMP2 calculator in the works:
SMP2 Bonus Point Calculator Leaving one core unused is probably not the worst idea if GPU folding at the same time. This leaves a virtual core over for the GPU clients and other system resources.
Image and instructions As requested, I have compressed a copy of my Linux image consisting of the necessary fah client. This image is for bigadv units and the bigadv folding requires an i7 or dual socket setup consisting of 8 or more cores. At least 6GB total memory is necessary. The bigadv Windows VMware folding is
experimental and stability is unknown. Make sure your system, CPU, and memory are completely stable and all temps under load are normal before trying out these bigadv units. Also make sure your operating system has enough available resources including memory. This can be checked in Windows task manager. This image can also be used to run the regular 1920 pt Core A2 work units.
VMware Images Linux FAH Image v1.1 - Includes folding client 6.29
Mirror 1 Mirror 2 Linux FAH Image v1.0
Mirror 1 Thanks to wb488641 and braindancer for providing file mirror locations. Thanks to gotspeed for making the torrent. Thank you to CBT over at foldingforum.org for mirroring the v1.1 image file.
Development VMware Image Linux FAH Image - Dev (Last Updated 01-24-10)
VMWare Player Download VMWare Player 3.0 Backup scripts Folding backup scripts provided by TheCrazyCanuck (see further down the thread for more info)
Folding Backup Scripts Folding Backup Questions Link Thanks to Shane @ EVGA for hosting the file and thanks to TheCrazyCanuck for spending the time writing the backup scripts and instructions.
Utilities Qfix - Linux 64-bit build - Source (
Link 1 -
Link 2)
7-Zip offers much better compression options than using Zip. The compression program can be found here:
7-zip Linux FAH Image ChangeLog Virtualbox Disk Image This image includes the same functionality as VMware v1.1 image with client 6.29 and includes vbox-additions.
Virtualbox Linux64_FAH Image v1.0 (7z)
Native Linux Disk Image This is a raw disk image consisting of the same functionality as the VMware v1.1 image. It can be written with an imaging program that can read from a raw disk image like dd. It has a few kernel modifications that apply to the native environment:
Supports up to 256 processors - to cover the upcoming Nehalem-EX processors which scale to 8+ sockets
Supports most SCSI/SAS/SATA/IDE and Ethernet devices
To boot the Linux system, the disk should be hooked up on the first controller port or should be the only disk connected to the system in order for the root file system to be able to mount. The kernel by default tries to mount /dev/sda1 for the rootfs.
Native Linux64_FAH Image v1.0 (
7z |
xz)
VMX Fix If you are running an older version of the image and also setting more than 3600MB, I would recommend changing this option in the Linux64_FAH.vmx file:
virtualHW.version = "6" to virtualHW.version = "7"
This will make it so that all allocated memory is available to Linux in the VM. Otherwise upgrade to v1.1.
Installation 1) Install VMWare Player 3.0 - default options
2) Download and unzip the image. Put the file anywhere you like as long as there is at least 8GB free storage.
3) Startup VMWare Player
4) Click File - Open a Virtual Machine
5) Go to the location where you put the image and double click on the Linux64_FAH.vmx file.
6) The VMX file is preconfigured to use 8 processors and 3600MB memory. Before starting the VM machine, you have the option to "Edit virtual machine settings" and adjust the number of cores and allocated memory. Add more memory for 8-core bigadv or Ramdisk. Adjust the cores if you have less than 8. You may want to add more memory if available even with 7-core folding. I prefer to set 4600MB for 7-core folding and 4800-5000 for 8-core folding. The virtual machine will use what it needs up to what is allocated.
Double click on the name "Linux64_FAH" to start the virtual machine.
7) Wait for Linux to boot. You will see a command prompt. Just above, there are instructions on how to setup FahMon. The system will attempt to get an IP by DHCP and will tell you that IP address.
8) With version 1.0, you no longer need to login via the first two consoles. This version is setup to auto-login. Otherwise, login with the following:
FAH Login:
fah Password:
fah1234 9a) Web configuration: Follow this step if you prefer to configure by web. If you want to setup and start the client via the console, skip this step and go to 9b.
When you first boot up the virtual machine it will tell you the HTTP address above the login prompt. The format should be:
http://ip/ where IP is the IP address assigned to the virtual machine.
Enter your username, team id, and passkey here.
To get a passkey:
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/getpasskey.py With the newer versions, you have the option to enable auto-startup so that the folding client will startup automatically with the next reboot. Version 1.0 has a checkbox for rebooting after Submit. Otherwise, you can enter the command reboot in the console after you Submit.
If you plan not to use the web logs or web access, then you can disable the web service with this command:
v0.4 or newer:
web disable
This will save some memory and also close down the web port for security. Enter web enable to startup the web service again.
If auto-startup is not enabled, then you can start fah6 manually with this command in the console:
./fah6 -bigadv -smp 7
9b) Command line configuration:
With this configuration, the web interface is not being used so this service can be turned off with this command:
v0.4 or newer:
web disable
To startup and configure the folding client:
./fah6 -bigadv -smp 7
For configuration, you will need your login, team (111065), and passkey. To get a passkey:
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/getpasskey.py The only two options I change from default is I select "big" for the unit size when prompted and I enable advmethods under Advanced Options when prompted.
10) (Optional)
8-core bigadv folding may be possible if you allocate enough memory to the virtual machine. At least 4600MB will need to be allocated, if not more. Make sure that Windows has enough resources before trying this. Thanks goes to brentpresley over at foldingforum.org for the tip on setting a greater memory allocation to the virtual machine.
./fah6 -bigadv -smp 8
It is also possible to run the smaller 1920 pt work units via this system (replace with 8 with however many cores you like and your system supports):
./fah6 -smp 8
11) (Optional) With v0.6 or newer, you can now view the folding log file via the web:
http://IP/log.php Additional Information and Configuration Options Bonus point requirements 1) At least 10 Core A2 work units must be completed. (1920 or 25403 pt units qualify)
2) At least 80% of Core A2 work units must be completed in time.
3) A passkey must be used.
GNU License The Linux image software is covered under the
GNU General Public License Version 2 Folding backup scripts and instructions provided by TheCrazyCanuck TheCrazyCanuck
These files will allow you to backup your FAH contents to your Windows machine every hour. Those of you who have real servers to backup files just tweak the username, password, and location accordingly. These files also take care of backing up the ramdrive if you happen to use it. The reason why you would want to backup every hour is because if the FAH client restarts early then you might loose days worth of work that is either not backed up or has been backed up and replaced by another backup.
The hourly backups also resync the clock just in case it was drifting over time. I give you the option of starting up the client with a RAM disk using what Linuxrouter has provided and I give you instructions on how you can retain those contents since they are volatile.
*Disclaimer: I expect anyone who uses this to read the instructions and not complain to me if they loose a WU because they were too lazy to follow instructions. I also take no responsibility for anything you manage to bugger up on the host or VM.*
View original IP configuration information If you missed the original configuration information including the IP address, FahMon setup, and web configuration address, then you can run this command to see that information again:
info
Shutting down or restarting To shutdown the virtual machine, run this command:
shutdown -h now
To reboot the virtual machine, run this command:
reboot
Multiple Consoles The image supports opening multiple consoles at once (max 6). Simply hit ALT+F2 through F6 and login. Then you can run other commands while folding at the same time.
Sample Configuration Screenshots Config Screenshot 01 Config Screenshot 02 Troubleshooting Solution for client error "Could not connect to Primary Assignment Server for ID" (Credit to pgmoney for solution) The virtual machine needs an IP on the network in order to access the Internet and the folding servers. If on startup the IP is missing in the notification, then this configuration change may give the virtual machine access to the network.
1) Open VMWare and select Linux64_FAH but do not start the virtual machine
2) Click "Edit virtual machine settings"
3) Click on Network Adapter
4) Change Network Connection from Bridged to NAT
5) Click OK and start the virtual machine
Loss of network connectivity to the virtual machine If the system goes into a sleep state, this can cause loss of network connectivity to the virtual machine. If this happens, the following command sequence may repair the network connection in Linux without rebooting the virtual machine.
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet stop
rmmod e1000
modprobe e1000
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet start
ifconfig eth0 (This is see what IP address was assigned to the network adapter)
Moving the Virtual Machine If you move the virtual machine and find that you cannot get the network connection to come up again, this should fix the issue:
rm /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
reboot
Advanced Options SSH / Screen Session Setup (Optional) For those familiar with SSH, there is also the option to access the virtual machine and FAH client remotely.
Only do this if you are familiar with SSH and feel that your network is adequately
secure.
To enable SSH:
chmod 755 /etc/rc.d/rc.sshd; /etc/rc.d/rc.sshd start
You can now SSH into the virtual machine using the fah login. Make sure your network is
secure first. I would highly recommend setting a new password for the fah account to something more secure using the command: passwd fah. Alternatively, setup a key pair. Use your favorite SSH client. I use Putty in Windows and OpenSSH in Linux.
Setup a screen session:
screen -R -D -S fah
Startup FAH:
./fah6 -bigadv -smp 7
Detach from screen session:
CTRL A + D
Reconnect to the screen session at a later time:
screen -rx fah
Using this method you can login to your virtual machine from another system on the same network or from another site if your network is configured for remote access (VPN) and then join into the screen session again to monitor your FAH client.
Ramdisk (v0.4 or greater) v0.4 has support for setting up a Ramdisk. There is a script called buildramfs that you can run to set up the Ramdisk. This script creates a Ramdisk with a default size of 750000K to accommodate the bigadv work files. It also automatically copies the files from the work folder and mounts the Ramdisk to the work folder. You will need at least 500MB of available memory and allocated to the virtual machine for these files. The Ramdisk does grow and uses in memory what it needs up to the file system size. The script takes one argument of size where you can specify another size instead of the default 750000K.
Only do this if you have the available memory, have an adequate backup plan, and feel comfortable working with Linux. You will want to backup your files somewhere. These are several options you might consider:
1) Setup a batch file in Windows that copies the work folder and queue.dat file to the host OS on a scheduled time interval using scheduled tasks.
2) Mount a Windows shared folder in Linux using CIFS and copy the files to the Windows shared folder using a Cronjob.
3) Copy the files to a location on the Linux file system of your choosing using a Cronjob.
4) Copy the files manually.
Change the resolution for the virtual machine The default resolution is 1024x768x16 for the virtual machine. To change the resolution, on first boot when the red LILO bootloader shows up, hit the tab key. You only have 3-seconds to hit the tab key. The following is an example how to change the resolution:
2.6.33-intel vga=0x340
Other options to enter after vga=: normal - lowest resolution
0x340 - 800x600x32
0x344 - 1280x1024x32
0x346 - 1600x1200x32
0x355 - 2048x1536x32
ask - show all available resolutions
Old Forum Thread Link to old forum thread
<message edited by linuxrouter on 1 day and 17 hrs. ago>